Art of manipulating tenuous metallic lamellæ.



WILLIAM E. CHOATE, 0F HAMILTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

A RT OF MANIPULATING- TENOUS METALLIC LAMELLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918i.

Application med Maren 24, 1916. seria; No. 86,487. i

To all whom 'it 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, IVILLiAn E. CuoaTn, a citizen of the llnitcdl States. and a resident of Hamilton. iu the county of Essex and State ofHassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in AXrty of Manipulating Tenuous Metallic Lamellae, of which the following description. in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters ou the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to the art of manipulating tenuous metallic lamellac such as ,gold leaf and the purpose is to provide methods and equipn'ient` for practising them whereby articles may be ornamented, marked or covered with metallic leaf with greater facility than has hitherto been possible and at the same time the highest standard of quality in the work be maintained.

The great thinness of gold leaf (I shall hereafter for convenience refer specifically to gold leaf as typical of similar leaves or foils) renders the use of it a matter of extreme delicacy. Attempts have been made to simplify the o eration of applying the leaf by utilizing a acking or mounting during the process of application, which mountlng was removed from the finished Work.

These efforts while making the handling of the leaf easier were foundto adversely effect the quali-ty 4of the work in that the luster or metallic sheen of the metal was lost. The effect of my invention is to preserve the true luster of the beaten gold, While at the same time providing for convenient manipulation of the leaf.

My invention will be best understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, whereinz Figures 1, 2 and 3 are views showing successive steps in the'preparation of my novel mounted gold leaf such as is used in carrying out my process;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the use of the product referred to-in my novel process. It will be understood that the thi ckne of the various layers is enormously exaggerated Fig. 5 is a view showing the -inal step in marking an article.

In Figs. l to 3 I have illustrated a simple method of preparing my novel mounted leaf and have there shown it as .made up 1n the form of a book similar to that commonly used as a. carrier for gold leaf but this form of packaging itis not essential. For the purposes of my invention I mount each leaf of gold on a backing which will notA only serve as a carrier therefor but which will act as a buruisher when the leaf is used. This backing may be of any suitable character but desirably I use a thin paper of homogeneous texture or consistency and having a surface of great smoothness so that there are no perceptible asperitles or any roughness 1n the substance of the backing which could be transmitted to the gold.l `Certain suitable papers are commercially known as glassine and onion skin. The specific steps by which the papers known commercially by these names are manufactured are Zealously guarded as trade secrets. The gene-ral manner of .manufacturing them is known, however, and I briey explain it here, basing my explanation on the report of a consulting chemist. Glassine paper, otherwise known .as pergamyn paper, is paper in which hydration of the cellulose liber has taken place due to prolonged heating of the fibers ency or glossy finish is brought about by special methods of calendering. Parchment paper, onion skin paper and certam other papers share with glasslne to ta `greater or less degree the properties of exceptional homogeneity and membranous appearance. Parclnnent paper differs from glassine paper in the kind of fiber used in its manufacture, but principally in that the hydration of the cellulose is effected by use of chemical agents having hydrolytic action on cellulose instead of by mechanical means. Onion skin paper and certain other semi-transparent papers differ from glassine mainly in degree of hy- 4 dration (which governs homogeneity), in kind of fiber used, in finish. transparency and greaseproofness. These papers are adapted to the purpose in hand because of their substantially amorphous texture Without palpable fiber or grain throughout their substance and smooth. superficial surface. The use of material of this nature is of iitmostv importance. the ordinary tissue commonly used in gold leaf books and mount-- ings being entirely inapplicable to the purpose of my invention. A sheet of this paper as l (Fig. 1) is laid on a perfectly smooth surface. and superficially coated with a suit.- able unctuous adhesive. For this purpose a hard wax such as paraffin or carnauva wax or a similar cereous substance is adaptable. A piece of wax 2 shown in the drawing mounted in a. suitable handle is drawn over the sheet l with a gentle even pressure which will cause. a thin coating 3 of wax to be applied to the sheety l. A leaf of gold 4 is laid smoothly on the prepared sheet l and a second sheet 1a like the sheet. 1 is laid over the whole (Fig. 2). The second sheet is then in turn treated with wax (Fig. 3) and the pressure. incidental to that. ope ation will cause the leaf 4 to adhere to the. prepared sheet 1. The sheet l with the adhering sheet 4 may now be handled with comparative freedom without danger of breaking or wrinkling the gold. rlhis method facilitates not only the repairing of piiilioles or torn places in a leaf of metal by pei'iiiitting patches to be added, but allows wholel additional leaves to be added when a more opaque or heavier thickness of metal is desired inasmuch as no coating has to be added to the. exposed face of the leaf and the leaves of gold readily amalgaiiiate or weld cold when pressed together.

I wish to emphasize that according to my invention the leaf is only superfieially attaehed to the sheet l. Attempts have been made to prepare leaf eohering with a bacle ing by subjecting the leaf and backing to comparatively great pressure, but while an easily handled assemblage. resulted the lustei' of the metal was entirely lost. It appears tliat the comparative roughness of the paper backing used was transferred to the gold and destroyed its smooth surface. Furthermore` a superficial adherence allows relative movement of the gold and the bur iiishiiig sheet l under a die when the. prepared leaf is used and may allow the highly finished sheet to smooth the metal much as the moving flat-iron smooths cloth. If anl intimate coherence were provided for munite ruptures of the applied gold would take place when the hacking sheet was distorted by the die for it must be boi'iie in mind that the dimensions ot' the materials treated are so minute that causes apparently insignificant may have a controlling effect on the result.

ln Figs. Jr and 5 l have shown diagrammatically a method of producing designs on surfaces which utilizes the improved article already described. ln these figures I have chosen for illustration a small book 5 such as is carried in the pocket and the design tliere ou is in the forni of letters. ln carrying out my method the article to be. marked such as the book 5 is preferably treated at the general locatioirof the proposed design with a suitable substance or mordant` for instance. a

preparation of albuinen, which is adapted to develop adhesive properties under the local action of a heated die. Over the book is placed a sheet of my improved form of mounted gold leaf with the leaf l incoiitact.

with the surface to `be marked. Pressure is then applieelto the assemblage by means of the suitably heated die and preferably pait of the' surface to be. ornainented ands party of the mounted 4 leaf'are offset from 80 the rest along the .iines of the proposed design. Tlie action of the heated die will develop the adhesive properties offmthe mordant on the surface of the book 5 and also will tend to relax the 'holding properties of the 85 wax l/Vhatever the action may be, however. it is found that the gold at the location of the design on the die will adhere to the book a and that the sheet l with the re.-

mainder of the gold leaf i may be easily stripped from the book leaving the saine marked as shown in Fig. 5. The remainder of the leaf 4 is available for further use or, if

too small an amount of it is left., it may be readily recovered without dissipation or vaste.

The importance of my invention lies in the fact that the quality of the. work is in no way diminished even although a backing sheet is used in connection with the gold leaf. The reason for this lies in the use of the. backing or cai'rier for the gold leaf which is iii itself adapted to transmit an even. burnishing pressure thereto. The

paper. because of the. homogeneous eonsistcney thereof and the high finish of its siii'- f'ace, does not in any way roughen the surface of the applied gold when pressed there.-v against aiid so does not, diminish its luster,

whereas if ordinary paper were used any inequality ,or roughness of the surface or screen marks and the pattern or grain of the fibers of the substance of the paper itself would be transferred to the metal as an ine pression even were the faces of the dies perto 'the gold leaf itself. It will be apparent 120 that when the die 6 is pressed upon the asf seinblage that the type 7 will offset part of the surface of the book cover 5 from the rest and a. corresponding portion of the gold leaf and its backing sheet and that there is therefore probably a certain relative movement of the various layers so offset. The amount of this movement would be. of course. very slight in any ordinary sense. but in View of the delicacy of the materials handled quite largelrelatively. lf such a movement took place the smooth surface of the sheet 1, which is not in any way disturbed by the pressure thereagainst of constituent fibers of palpable size in the interior part of the sheet, would ha ve only a rubbing or polishing action on the surface of the gold leaf -t where it appears on the marked article. lf ordinary paper were used for the backing then the result. of any such rubbing action would be to spoil the luster of the gold but tho very smooth and even surface of the backing which I use. especially when lubricated by the thin coating of wax 3, slides readily over the surface of the goldY and burnishes or polishes it in the salue operation by which it is attached. It. should be noted that throughout the operation the. gold leaf itself is not subjected to any treatment adversely affecting its character. lt is held superfieially on top of the backing 3 and is preferably transferred and fastened by the developed adhesiveness of the. mordant. preliminarily placed on the surface ofthe book cover 5 which long experience in applying ordinary gold leaf has proved the best method. My invention is therefore distinguished from those in which the mordant has been combined with the leaf as by spraying it on the leaf which had been applied to paper. TheI mordant or adhesive in such eases renders the. exposed ysurface unt for the amalgamation or welding on of more leaf as explained above and also destroys thel luster, giving the metal a somewhat frosted appearance.

In my improved form of mounted leaf the metal is not changed in any way and the highly planished and homogeneous backing supplies a. perfectly smooth and polished surface to impress the gold leaf upon the design and the embossed 'letters therefore have as pure a metallic luster as would be the ease were a metallic tool directly in contact with the leaf and theiresults may be even better than those ordinarily obtained when new tools are used since new tools of the requisite smoothness and polish are not easily to be had.

In they drawings the method of applying the gold v to the article to be decorated is shown diagrammatically. 1ty may be practised by hand or by the aid of a suit-able machine, such for example as that shown in my Patent No. 1,128,225, February 9, 1915, and the sheet of a mounted gold leaf may of course take ,the form of a roll if so desired.

By the practice of my invention it is possible for unskilled persons to apply the very delicate gold leaf and to handle it by machinery with great facility but at the same time no concessions to ease of operation have been made at the expense of the quality of the work. On the contrary the quality of the finished product has been given prior lconsideration and the use`of the sheet 1 is not important as a backing only for l am aware that it has been proposed before to mount gold leaf on a backing sheet which would bev used in applying it butv it has an important function as a cooperating lelement of the decoratingr a-pparatus as it supplies the smooth-and uniform surface which presses the gold against the surface to be marked and which therefore allows the truc metallic luster of the same to appear on the finished product. 'Furthermore, as has been explained the .smooth and lubricated surface. acts as a positive burnishing or polishing elen'ient and insures a brilliant appearance of the applied metal. I v

ln the description above I have for convenience referred specifically to gold leaf but it will be understood that ly have used those words in an exemplary sense only and that my invention is applicable to various sorts of tenuous lamellae or leaves l which have a metallic luster.

\\'hat VI claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of ornamenting surfaces comprising applying to the surface 'metallic leaf superticially adhering to a backing sheet of homogeneous nature substantially withont palpable fiber or grain throughout its substance and having a surface of great smoothness, applying pressure to the assemblage where a transfer of the leaf to the surface to be marked is desired, whereby simultaneously both to cause such transfer and to burnish theA transferred metal.

2. The. metlod of ornamenting surfaces comprising applying to the surface metallic leafsupercially adhering t0 a backing sheet substantially without palpa'ble irregularities both throughout its substance and superticially offsetting the surface and therewith the applied leaf and -backing by pressure at the location of the proposed design whereby to cause the transfer of the leaf to the surface to be. marked and simultaneously to burnish the transferred metal.

The method of ornamenting surfaces cmnprising assembling with the surface metallic leaf and a flexible. burnishing sheet disposed in serial relation as named and applying pressure to the assemblage where a transfer of the leaf to the Surface is desired.

4. The method of producing designs on surfaces comprising assembling with the surface metallic leaf and a flexible burnishing sheet disposed in serial relation as named and locally offsetting the assemblage by pressure applied at the lines of theproposed design.4

5. The method of ornamenting surfaces comprising applying to the surface metallic leaf superficially adhered by means of a lubricative adhesive to a flexible backing sheet which has a surface of great smoothness and applying pressure to the assemblage at the locationvof the proposed des1 n. ,L

The method of producing designs on surfaces comprising applyin to the surface metallic leaf superficial y adhered by means of a lubricative adhesive to a flexible backing sheet of substantially amorphous texture or consistency and having a surface of great smoothness and locally offsetting the assemblage by pressure applied at the location of the proposed design.

7. The method of ornamenting surfaces comprising applying to the surface metallic leaf mounted on a backing sheet of paper of the characteristics associated with the identifying names glassine and onion-skin paper by a superfical intervening layer of wax and applying localized pressure to the assemblage by means of a heated die of desired form.

8. The step in the process of marking articles with dies consisting in interposing y between the face of the embossing dies and the work upon which they are to be impressed, a subsurface consisting of a flexible sheet of substantially amorphous texture or consistency with a highly planished surface.

y9. As ay new article of manufacture a flexible backing sheet of substantially amorphous texture or consistency and having a very smooth surface `and a metallic leafl superticially adhering to said surface.

10. As a new article of manufacture a backing member of thin paper substantially Without palpable irregularities both throughout its substance and superficially., and a metallic leaf superficially adhering t0 said surface.

11. As a new article of manufact-ure a flexible backing comprising hydrolyzed and coalescent cellulose fibers combined to form a sheet of homogeneous texture or consistency and having a surface of great smoothness and metallic leaf superlicially adheringvlthereto.

12. The method of decorating surfaces with metallic leaf which comprises backing the leaf with material having a glazed surface toward the leaf and impressing portions of the leaf upon the surface by means of heat and pressure applied through the backing.

13. The method of decora-ting surfaces with metallic leaf, which comprises backin the leaf With paper having a glazed surface toward the leaf and impressing portions of the leaf upon the surface by means of heat and pressure applied through the backing. i

In testimony whereof, Iv have signed my name to this specification.

VILLIAM E. CHOATE. 

